New York Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist says preparing for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is no different than preparing for ... Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins, according to Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today.
Marcus Gilchrist says Jets prepare for Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins the same way
Tom Brady and Kirk Cousins aren’t even remotely similar, but the Jets will prepare for them both the same way, according to Marcus Gilchrist.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Gilchrist said that the gameplan doesn’t get more or less important depending on the quarterback they’re playing, but that execution of the gameplan is always the most important aspect of their job. He said that Cousins easily could have looked like Brady if the defense didn’t do its job.
“It’s like turning the light switch on and off because it’s a different person,” Gilchrist said. “Kirk Cousins could have easily come out there and we could’ve not played sound football and not been where we were supposed to be and he could’ve looked the same way (like Brady).”
Obviously, it's important to understand what Gilchrist is saying. He's not comparing Cousins, a player with a career completion percentage of 61.6, 4,450 yards, 24 touchdowns and 27 interceptions with Brady, a player with four Super Bowl rings and 10 Pro Bowls under his belt.
“We can’t allow one game to be bigger than the other,” Gilchrist said. “Do we realize the type of player we’re playing against? Yes, we do. But you don’t change. We’ve got to be 1-0 this week, regardless of who it is -- Brady -- regardless of who we’re playing.”
They will watch Brady and try and focus on the things he does specifically, same as they will with any quarterback, but the way the Jets conduct practice and prepare for the upcoming game is no different, according to Gilchrist.
The Jets rank first in the league in total defense, and have allowed just 933 passing yards, good for second best in the league. The 413 rushing yards they’ve allowed is the lowest in the league, and they have allowed just 15 points per game. Meanwhile, the Patriots rank 14th in the league in total offense, No. 9 in passing yardage, No. 29 in rushing yardage and first in the league in points per game at 36.6.
New York may not be preparing any differently, but it could be a very different game for them. They've faced Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill this season, but the other quarterbacks they've faced includes Josh McCown, Sam Bradford and Cousins. Brady is on a whole different level and he will surely test Gilchrist and the rest of the secondary, including former teammate Darrelle Revis, on Sunday.
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